Marina Abramović has spent decades challenging audiences to rethink what art can be. Known for physically demanding performances and experiments with endurance, time and human connection, the acclaimed artist has now stepped into unexpectedly playful territory: inflatable art.
Her latest creation, Snowy/Windy/Spring on Planet Z, is part of the inaugural exhibition at New York’s newly opened Balloon Museum. The immersive installation places visitors inside an otherworldly landscape of oversized inflatable grass, artificial snow and sound, offering a very different experience from Abramović’s traditionally intense performances.
From Performance Art to an Inflatable Planet
Abramović admits that balloon art was initially far removed from her artistic world. When she first began researching the medium, she viewed it as something kitschy and largely associated with children and games.
That perception changed as she considered the temporary nature of inflatable objects. Air fills a balloon, but eventually the air escapes; squeezing it can make it disappear. For Abramović, that impermanence closely connects with one of the central ideas of performance art: the experience exists for a limited time and cannot be permanently preserved in the same way as a traditional object.
Entering Planet Z
Visitors to Snowy/Windy/Spring on Planet Z are transported into an alien environment designed to slow down their sense of time and place.
The installation features enormous inflatable blades of grass, a winding pathway and falling paper-like snow. Before entering, visitors put on noise-canceling headphones through which Abramović slowly recites the names of exoplanets.
Rather than encouraging visitors to simply photograph themselves inside the artwork, the installation is designed around movement, sound and personal attention. Abramović believes the audience has an important role in completing the experience: the artist creates the environment, but visitors must contribute their time and attention.
A New York Home for Inflatable Art
The Balloon Museum selected New York as the location for its first permanent home after the success of its 2023 pop-up exhibition in the city.
Its inaugural show, Daydream, brings together 14 installations by artists including Turner Prize winner Martin Creed, Karina Smigla-Bobinski and the audiovisual studio Onionlab. The museum occupies the former Tin Building space, which has been transformed into an immersive contemporary-art destination.
Why Abramović Embraces New Challenges
For Abramović, accepting unusual creative assignments is part of the artistic process. She compares the experience to Renaissance artists working under commissions, where strict requirements could force artists to discover unexpected solutions.
She also views failure as valuable. According to Abramović, artists sometimes fail completely, but that possibility is connected to courage and experimentation.
At 79, the artist continues to approach unfamiliar projects with the same curiosity that has defined her career. From endurance performances to immersive installations, her work remains focused on making audiences experience art rather than simply observe it.
A Different Kind of Abramović Experience
Snowy/Windy/Spring on Planet Z may look playful compared with some of Abramović’s most demanding works, but its focus on time, presence and participation remains closely connected to her artistic philosophy.
Her move into inflatable art demonstrates that even one of contemporary art’s most recognizable performance artists is still willing to experiment—and to discover new possibilities in an unfamiliar medium.
